Dixon Waste Audit

Yesterday Dixon Recreation Center went through its first annual waste audit. The goal of this event was to determine what trash was entering our stream and to expose our members to how much waste we really produce here. At the waste audit, we went through everything in the dumpster that had accumulated from Monday- Wednesday. We then sorted each item based on if it could be recycled, composted, or landfill and then weighed each group.Items that could have been recycled- 46 lbs.Items that could have been composted- 58 lbs.Items that can only go to landfill- 354 lbs.What this data means is that we are doing a great job here on sorting, but we can improve our compost ability through the facility and provide better located recycling bins. In order to reduce the waste going to landfill, I am researching ways we could change our purchasing so that we reduce the amount of single use items.It terms of what you can do to help out, there was a total of 234 coffee cups in our trash. That is an average of 78 cups a day. Most coffee retailers on campus provide cups that are not recyclable, even if it is a second cup for insulation. This is a result of the plastic lining that is inside the cup. Check out this article from Business Insider for more information: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-starbucks-doesnt-recycle-cups-2015-5 So next time you go for a coffee break, don’t forget your reusable mug, you could even get $0.25 off your drink! Finally I just want to thank everyone for supporting this event. It states in Rec Sports guiding principles that “We serve as stewards of our resources” and your support of this event truly emphasizes this commitment